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Places
The world is governed by a number of nations, all vying for security and control. The Western Kingdoms Three kingdoms mark the western shores of the mainland. Westmarch From the capital of Westwatch, the Queen of Westmarch has fealty from the cities and towns of the rolling hills and Redwine isles. Westmarch’s cities are Whiteabbey, Midhill, and Redwine Keep. Westmarch calls itself the Elven Kingdom, and holds elfborn as first-class citizens, humans and dwarfborn as second-class, all other non-beastfolk as third, and tolerate no immigration or travel from beastfolk. Religious worship and bigotry run rampant here. Cragholdland From the capital of Cragholm, the King of Cragholdland has fealty from the cities and towns of the Craglands. Cragholm’s cities are Raven’s Rook and Berrywine. Cragholdland calls itself the Dwarven Kingdom, and though its origins are from the same xenophobic fervor as Westmarch’s, bigotry has cooled in the past few decades... somewhat. Religious worship is common here. Midrun From the capital of Forks, the Regent of Midrun has fealty from the cities and towns of the steppe and lowlands. Midrun’s cities include Delta and Lakefort. Though many citizens (and nobles) resent the implication, Midrun is called the “human kingdom”, and though efforts have been made to distance themselves from the bloody history they share with Westmarch and Cragholdland, memory still holds firm the deeds of the past. Religious worship here is in sharp decline, and immigration between here and the other two kingdoms have slowly gathered a less and less xenophobic population within Midrun’s borders. The North Home to the Canis – the greater cultural group of the Fortlanders, Tundra Nomads, and Longhallers – Vendcrum is the constitutional monarchic republic that spans most of the north coast to coast. Vendcrum Three locations are of major importance to Vendcrum’s society. Tall Trees is home to the Speaking Hall, where representatives from across the republic pass laws and edicts. Hammerhold is home to the Palace, where the Shattershields have been high kings, queens, and regents for centuries, and where they still ratify the laws and edicts of the Speaking Hall. Last Hearth is home to the Wintermoot – a dual-purpose festival and civic event, where representatives are voted upon, the Prime Speaker is voted upon by the representatives, and a vast harvest feast is held. After millenia of holding back aggression from their human neighbours and danger from the hostile climate, this society as a whole shares political leanings towards strong military, liberal trade policy, and public control of services and production. The Central Mainland After Pacim closed its great Iron Gates during the Neo-Anctarite War, the significant mass of population living and working the outer Ring Mountains separated from Pacim and joined Wildur. The Wildur Confederacy The Wildur Confederacy is formed of the Swamp Henges, Mountain Syndicates, and Forest Groves. Each grove, syndicate, and henge provides one representative, who travels thoughout the confederacy, hosting both closed and open proceedings from town to town. Every confederated settlement is guaranteed the presence of at least one open council proceeding per year. The Confederacy is strictly in charge of material exchanges and foreign policy for the many otherwise self-governing anarchic syndicates, elder-led henges, and forum-led groves. For international trade and negotiation purposes, the capital is Councilhenge. The Wildur Confederacy is host to the cities of Outgate, Tunnelburg, Garrison, and Pinewatch. Pacim An intensely bureaucratic society, Pacim has a labyrinthine four-branched government (economic, judicial, legislative, executive) to govern its tiny enclaved republic. Blocked in by the construction of Outgate, Pacim is governed from the capital of Stoutgate, on the other side of the tunneled-through Iron Gate’s checkpoints. Within the valley, the republic is home to the cities of Fisheries and Lambchop. The East Sprawling across the coast and sea, the Estron empire spreads a dominating reach over the land. Over sea, however, her reach is newfound and untempered. The Estron Empire Led by the two Emperors in Eastlanding, the Estron Empire amalgamates five kingdoms – the Sun Kingdom (with a king in Eastlanding), the Rain Kingdom (with a king in Shadowgate), the Cloud Kingdom (with a king in Monkskeep), and the Southern Kingdom (with a king in Riverbend). With expansionist and colonial intent, citizens are going to sea en masse to inhabit the newly charted isles in the sea. Imperials Those in the eastern seas who seek to colonize in the name of the Empire are called Imperials. Citizens and soldiers, merchants and nobles, the Imperials seeking the isles seek to control and command these waters. Boat Folk These isles were never missing, simply uncharted. For centuries; exiles, pirates, traders, and fisherfolk travelled to the Secret Isles, to find solace on the waves. Anti-governmental and libertarian in design, the Boat Folk seek to leave the isles as they were – a place to hide from the world, not a place within it. The Southern Seas Across the Divide lies Celestia, separated from the world – but as boats surge along the waves, charts and courses have revealed their dividing chasm is not so impenetrable. Though the Divide encircles much of Celestia, the seas nearby are host to the Kingdom of Soth – a would-be shining light of civilization, where all could be free and live in harmony. Celestia Ruled by the titan Alistair, Celestia is his tyrannical prison – a place he cultivates like a garden for the Skytouched... where none may enter, and none may leave. Alistair has influence on the storms in the seas around the Divide, controlling trade and transit. Soth Built and fallen so quickly, Soth is a land where gold went to die – grand terraces and mezzanines, great libraries and temples, half-built and abandoned. Countered by trade sanctions from Westmarch due to political differences, hostile action from Celestia for accepting Skytouched refugees, and sanctioned by the Estron empire as economic warfare, Soth crumbled as quickly as it was built. Now, it is a land of empty palaces and freshly-built ruins – though many who came to live free still live and work the land, in pointless ostentatiousness. Across the Sea The war has never ended. Since the first rebellions, the Freed have been fighting back against their giant masters just across the sea from Westmarch and Cragholdland, pushing their sadistic captors further and further back, and building nations where they march. The Freedlands The Republic of the Freedlands stretches from the Legbreak mountains to the boreal forests to the north, and the giant front to the west and southwest. Fiercely democratic and freedom-obsessed, the people of the Freedlands live a life of constant warfare. The Giant Front Standing around one hundred metres tall, the Giants do not see small folk as having sentience and personhood. Mass slavers, Giants sustain themselves using the food, labour, and resources produced by droves upon droves of slaves. These slaves, in the Freedlands, are called the “unfreed” - citizens of the Freedlands, to which the Freed have a duty to fight and aid in their liberation. North of the Legbreaks North of the Freedlands, the frigid climes are host to the nations of Demon Bay and Evernight – both somewhat direct in their names. Demon Bay In the tundra and mountains, ruled by the demonic titan who calls himself Giant-Killer, the displaced Demontouched live among the locals, as their ruler travels to and fro – back and forth from the war front, quelling an insatiable righteous fury. A nascent nation, its government is skeletal and fledgeling. Evernight Northward, where the weather should begin to warm again, no warmth comes. Evernight is a vast dead plain leading from the mountains to the sea, devoid of any daylight. Presumably ruled by the former ruler of Tenebra, this nascent nation seems to be leagues ahead of Demon Bay, engaging in crafts, manufacture, and trade with the Northern Shore and the Freedlands. The Great Houses In the northern shores, there is no place for cities. Winter’s grasp makes the mountains and tundra inhospitable, and as the spring brings melt, the plains and shore submerge. Here, the Great Houses march. While they gather and congregate in the winter months, their settlements break, and the citizens scatter in the summer, to take advantage of the brief moment of lush fertility the land brings.